Undergraduate Program Admissions

Then you select the School of Design on CMU's supplemental application, either for the conventional undergraduate degree program or the BXA intercollege degree programs (In either case, you will have to submit a digital portfolio of your work, so we can assess your potential as a designer.)

How to Apply:

Start by filling out your Common Application, and directing it to Carnegie Mellon University. Once you submit to CMU, you will automatically be directed to additional CMU-specific questions. In addition to your essay responses, you can select “Design” as your program of interest. If you're applying for the BXA programs, follow up by visiting the BXA Intercollege Degree Programs Website for further information. Whether you're applying to the School of Design as a conventional Design Major or as a BXA student, most of your admissions materials will go directly to the university admissions office for processing. All of the university admissions requirements can be found here.

About Your Portfolio

As a School of Design applicant, you must submit a digital portfolio by uploading it to CMU’s secure SlideRoom portal (available in October). Please see our guidelines for creating your portfolio. Please do not mail a physical portfolio. Design School faculty members will review your portfolio along with your application and other application materials. If you would like to supplement your portfolio, or have not yet assembled one, you may wish to complete our Design Project. It’s a series of four creative assignments designed to help you demonstrate your design potential.

Presenting Your Portfolio in Person

After you submit your portfolio online, you can schedule an on-campus portfolio review around mid-October. It’s an optional step, but we highly recommend it. An on-campus review will enable you to meet with a member of our faculty for a five-to-ten-minute interview, engage with current students, and tour our facilities. To arrange an on-campus review, you must register online after you receive your Common Application receipt verification.

Dates to Remember

Online registration opens for on-campus reviews: Mid-October

All application materials for Early Decision: November 1, 2017 (try to get your first Common App form submitted in early October)

Review day for Early Decision applicants: November 12, 2017

Informal critiques for students seeking general portfolio feedback: November 12, 2017

Online portfolio submission for Early Decision: November 1, 2017

Common Application for Regular Decision: January 1, 2018

Online portfolio due by 11:59pm EST on January 15, 2018

Review days for most applicants (except transfer students or early decision applicants): January 21 (9am & 1pm, MMCH A14), January 28 (9am, MMCH A14), February 4 (9am, MMCH A14)

Review day for transfer students: February 9, 2018

More About Your Application

For more information about application deadlines and portfolio preparation, please see the following pages. If you still have questions, please contact our Undergraduate Program Coordinator, Melissa Cicozi.

Upcoming

Arianna Mazzeo, Design Research and Social Digital Innovation Professor from the Elisava School of Design & Engineering, will discuss how, through Participant-observation fieldwork and exploration urban sprawls, Pittsburgh might co-design a vibrant and textured rendering of "cultural others."